>> Imagine you've got a knife, you lend it to somebody for some legit use, and that person commits an homicide using it. Are you a killer?
Swap the knife with a gun. You're probably an accessory to murder. Why do you hand out your killing utensil to someone else? It's just senseless. Same with your car. It is your car. Hand it to someone else and frankly yes, I blame you for their behavior while using it. At a minimum, I expect you to have knowledge of who is in possession of your vehicle, and that you be willing to offer up their identity in place of your own when they break the law. I have never handed my car to anyone else. I don't understand people who do.
I am sensible enough to agree that it's quite far from the same degree of severity (car vs. gun). But the excuse of "it wasn't me driving my car!" is a copout, and exactly that - an excuse, designed to shove the blame on someone else. Well, someone other than the perpetrator - "it was an unknown person driving my car, even though my car wasn't stolen!".
The worst part is, you know who sped with your car. If you knowingly provided your gun to an acquaintance and they killed someone, would your conscience really be comfortable claiming "I didn't commit the murder... and I know who did it, but I won't tell on them!". Come on now. People only rationalize this because they think that speeding is "normal" and not "a real crime". They know the law has been broken, but because they personally believe it to be a minor "everyman" offense, they make excuses to justify the situation.
tldr; Either you, or the person you allowed to drive your car, broke the law. Grow up and pay the damn ticket. You're not a genius for nitpicking over "it wasn't me and you can't prove that I didn't know who was driving my non-stolen car!" - when clearly you or someone you have authorized to drive your vehicle is at fault.
> Swap the knife with a gun. You're probably an accessory to murder.
No, you're not, unless you (or rather, a rational person in your place) had a reason to believe that the person you lent it to was going to commit a crime with it, and the fact that you knew can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Swap the knife with a gun. You're probably an accessory to murder. Why do you hand out your killing utensil to someone else? It's just senseless. Same with your car. It is your car. Hand it to someone else and frankly yes, I blame you for their behavior while using it. At a minimum, I expect you to have knowledge of who is in possession of your vehicle, and that you be willing to offer up their identity in place of your own when they break the law. I have never handed my car to anyone else. I don't understand people who do.
I am sensible enough to agree that it's quite far from the same degree of severity (car vs. gun). But the excuse of "it wasn't me driving my car!" is a copout, and exactly that - an excuse, designed to shove the blame on someone else. Well, someone other than the perpetrator - "it was an unknown person driving my car, even though my car wasn't stolen!".
The worst part is, you know who sped with your car. If you knowingly provided your gun to an acquaintance and they killed someone, would your conscience really be comfortable claiming "I didn't commit the murder... and I know who did it, but I won't tell on them!". Come on now. People only rationalize this because they think that speeding is "normal" and not "a real crime". They know the law has been broken, but because they personally believe it to be a minor "everyman" offense, they make excuses to justify the situation.
tldr; Either you, or the person you allowed to drive your car, broke the law. Grow up and pay the damn ticket. You're not a genius for nitpicking over "it wasn't me and you can't prove that I didn't know who was driving my non-stolen car!" - when clearly you or someone you have authorized to drive your vehicle is at fault.